Mr. Shutout

Paul Gaustad and Mike Grier may have been out of the lineup tonight, but those aren’t the players the Buffalo Sabres rely on to score goals.

Martin Brodeur recorded his 103rd career shutout to tie Terry Sawchuk for first on the all-time list. He made 22 saves, but faced only 12 Sabre shots through the first two periods.

The Sabres lack of scoring depth is being exposed. When Thomas Vanek isn’t going, the team struggles.

The problem? They’re relying on guys like Jochen Hecht and Clarke MacArthur to fill the holes on the top two lines.

Sorry, but Hecht and MacArthur aren’t top six players.

And with the way they’ve been playing of late, Drew Stafford and Jason Pominville may not be either.

The Sabres may have started skating in the third period tonight, but it was already too little, too late at that point. The effort has been lacking the last two games and it’s led to few quality scoring chances.

Washington comes to town on Wednesday and haven’t lost since they shut the Sabres out on Nov. 25. In those six games, they’ve out-scored their opponents 26-9. Look out.